It’s back – the war on spam’s cat and mouse game continues. When the McColo hosting company was shutdown on November 11, 2008, it was predicted that the event would present an obstacle for spammers looking to get their message out in the short term. But now, spam volumes have returned to pre-McColo shutdown levels, accounting for over 79 percent of all email in recent days.
New botnets in Latin America and Asia are increasingly driving spam campaigns post-McColo. Colombia and Argentina have joined the top ten region of origin for spam, while Brazil has climbed to second place behind the United States. For the past few months, India and China have both retained their positions among the top regions of origin for spam.
As it is February, Valentine’s Day spam is also in full swing with spammers providing some “perfect gift suggestions” for your loved ones this year. Valentine’s Day is among the many holidays that are expected to be exploited by spammers in 2009.
Other report highlights from Symantec’s February State of Spam Report include:
· The Underground Path to Illegal Gambling in China: Symantec has recently observed what is believed to be the first instance of online casino and sports betting spam using the Chinese language. The message asks users to download a number of software packages and register an account. By registering an account, a user automatically becomes eligible for a random amount of free cash or bonus points.
· Spammer’s Get Caught Up In Obamania During Inauguration: Political themes play an especially prominent role in today’s online attacks because of their strong appeal to a wide audience. This threat continues to demonstrate a well-established practice among today’s attackers - tricking users into infecting themselves through the use of enticing messages based on current events.
To read about these or other trends in the Symantec Monthly State of Spam Report, such as Russian spammers offering local services, and the evolution of Nigerian spam, please visit the State of Spam website and the February State of Spam Report.
